Minister Tzachi Hanegbi says over 460 rockets fired from Gaza at southern Israel were a 'minor' response to the botched IDF mission in the strip, noting there is a difference between attacking the South and attacking Tel Aviv; Netanyahu rejects statement.

Regional Cooperation Minister Tzachi Hanegbi came under fire on Thursday after calling the over 460 rockets fired from Gaza at southern Israel this week "minor," noting there is a difference between attacking the South and attacking Tel Aviv. Hanegbi’s comments drew widespread condemnation, including from the prime minister.

"Hamas responded (to the botch IDF mission in Gaza on Sunday) in a measured manner and attacked only the Gaza border area. There's a difference between the border area and Tel Aviv, the economic capital of Israel. Hamas's attack was minor, because (rocket) fire at Tel Aviv has different ramifications," Hanegbi said in an interview with Army Radio.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quick to disavow Hanegbi's comment. "I completely reject the statement that there is a distinction made between the border area and Tel Aviv. Hamas's aggression is not 'minor,' and there is no distinction made between Hamas's (rocket) fire at southern Israel's communities and fire at any other area in the State of Israel," he said.

Later, Hanegbi apologized and clarified his comments, saying in a statement: "I've never made a distinction between the lives of residents in the border area and the lives of the residents of Tel Aviv, and if this is what my comments were taken to mean, I regret that."

"What I meant in my comments from this morning was that a wide-scale campaign in Gaza would necessarily lead to many casualties among our soldiers, massive fire on Tel Aviv, serious economic damage, harm the aerial movement to Israel, and to consequences on the economy and on tourism," he continued.

"At the end of the campaign, we could have found ourselves at the exact same place we are today, and so we preferred to reach a long-term calm, as possible as that may be, without escalation, for the sake of both the residents of the south and the residents of the rest of the country," Hanegbi went on to say.

In his interview with Army Radio, Hanegbi explained that the prime minister, the Security Cabinet ministers and the heads of the defense establishment "all thought we ought to put an end to the violence in Gaza. We had two ways: one was (resigning Defense Minister) Lieberman's way, who proposed a 'serious blow' (against Hamas), while the other was an arrangement. We're in the midst of the first stage of the second option."

Explaining why the Cabinet decided to agree to a ceasefire in Gaza and continue with the implementation of the Egyptian-mediated arrangement with Hamas, Hanegbi said "a serious blow means entering a long campaign, in which every day for weeks, and perhaps longer, Tel Aviv would be paralyzed with hundreds of rockets, which we will have no way of stopping without sending our soldiers into every nook and cranny in Gaza.

Ben-Gurion Airport would be paralyzed for weeks, and this would affect the economy and tourism. There are no wars without a cost. And those who don't wish to pay the price must find alternatives."

He added that Hamas "had a reason to seek revenge" after the IDF Special Forces mission inside Gaza, which led to the death of a senior IDF officer, adding Hamas "with 470 rockets only managed to kill a Palestinian."The prime minister was not the only member of Hanegbi's own Likud party to slam his comments. Social Equality Minister Gila Gamliel told Ynet that his statement was "particularly unfortunate."

"I'm a bit surprised by Minister Hanegbi, but there is no doubt this isn't the government's policy; I don't agree with it at all, and it's safe to assume neither does the government. He needs to recant his statement, there's no doubt," Gamliel added. Culture Minister Miri Regev, also of the Likud Party, wrote on Twitter: "Tzachi Hanegbi, my friend, you have erred. Your comment was inappropriate. Any fire that endangers the well-being and security of the citizens of Israel, in any place, must be met with a severe and identical response." Criticism also came from the other side of the aisle, with Opposition leader Tzipi Livni calling Hanegbi's comment "outrageous," and Zionist Union leader Avi Gabbay calling on the government to disperse.

"According to Tzachi Hanegbi, Hamas must not shoot at Tel Aviv residents, but it's okay to shoot at the south's residents. According to the government, it's impossible to protect the residents of the south," Gabbay charged.

65% of the Israeli public is extremely dissatisfied with the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's performance in the most recent confrontation with Hamas in Gaza, according to a recent poll.

In the poll, which was conducted following an armistice between Israel and the Palestinian resistance, 57% of respondents also expressed dissatisfaction with Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s performance.

A bit less than half, 49%, said Hamas won the latest round of hostilities with the Israeli military.

64% said they believe Israel should have kept up offensives on Gaza and backtracked on the ceasefire. Only 21% agreed to the truce.

The Kuwait mission to the UN, Mansour Al-Otaibi, has declared that the Security Council decisions on the situation in the Gaza Strip have failed to lead to an outcome.

Al-Otaibi stated, on Tuesday evening, at a conference which followed, “Our situation is clear…We have invited with Bolivia to hold a session in the Security Council….We deplore the Israeli aggression against [the] Gaza Strip and the excessive use of force against Palestinian civilians there. However, we couldn’t settle the situation in the Gaza Strip.”

Al-Otaibi stated, according to Al Ray, that most of the representatives of Member States, during the consultation meeting, affirmed the need for a Security Council move.

Moreover, they endorsed a visit to the Gaza Strip. The Permanent Observer for Palestine to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, stated that the Security Council is “paralyzed due to the situation of one state” in a reference to the USA, which inhibits the Security Council from discussing the Palestinian cause.

Al-Otaibi added that the Security Council should move to lift the siege on the Gaza Strip in order to bring back a normal life for its citizens.The Security Council held the session after a truce was announced, in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli navy on Tuesday afternoon shot and killed a Palestinian fisherman off northern Gaza shore.

The PIC reporter said that the fisherman sustained a serious injury in the abdomen and died shortly after he arrived at the hospital.

Gaza Ministry of Health confirmed the news and announced that Nawwaf al-Attar, 23, died after being shot in the abdomen while sailing off Beit Lahia in the northern area of the Gaza Strip.

Head of the Palestinian Fishermen Syndicate in Gaza Nezar Ayyash earlier in the day said that the Israeli navy on Tuesday attacked Gaza fishermen and prevented them from sailing in the permitted fishing zone.

Zakaria Baker, who leads a committee in charge of Gaza fishermen's affairs, told Quds Press that the Israeli occupation authorities, following the latest military aggression on Gaza, reduced the fishing zone to one nautical mile in some areas.

Based on the Oslo Accords, signed by the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel in 1993, Gaza fishermen have the right to fish and sail within a 20-nautical-mile area; however, Israel has reduced the fishing zone to three nautical miles.

Israeli ambassador Danny Danon slams 'morally bankrupt' countries blaming Israel for latest round of fighting with Hamas in Gaza, rejects calls for restraint on both sides: 'Hamas attacks and fires over 460 rockets at civilians, and Israel protects its people.'

Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon played the Code Red rocket-alert siren during a meeting of the United Nations Security Council Tuesday in an effort to demonstrate what Israelis living in border communities have to contend with when Hamas launches barrages of rockets at Israel.

The Security Council met behind closed doors to discuss the escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip, but diplomats said there was no agreement on how to address the crisis.

Kuwait and Bolivia requested the meeting following the worst flare-up in Gaza since the 2014 Operation Protective Edge.

Speaking at the meeting, Danon slammed Security Council members who put the blame on Israel for the latest fighting with Hamas in Gaza, calling them "morally bankrupt." He also rejected calls for restraint on both sides, dubbing it "hypocrisy.""There is no such thing as both sides," the Israeli envoy told reporters at the UN headquarters in New York. "There is Hamas that attacks and fires over 460 rockets at civilians, and there is Israel that protects its people."

When asked about the botched IDF mission that sparked the Hamas attacks and Israeli bombing of Gaza, Danon insisted, "We take action to protect our people, and we will continue to do that.""Every time Hamas fires a rocket, children, adults, and families across the country are running in fear to bomb shelters. The Security Council should condemn Hamas for its aggressive assault on civilians and declare it once and for all a terror organization," Danon said."Israel has cooperated with the UN to improve the conditions in the strip. However, the rampant escalation in Gaza proves there are elements that push for another round of fighting," he added."Hamas uses Gaza's residents as human shields.... The State of Israel will respond with force to those acting against it, and they will feel the IDF's might day and night," the Israeli ambassador warned. Kuwaiti Ambassador Mansour Al-Otaibi said that the majority of council members believe the top UN body "should do something" and some suggested a visit to the region, but no decision was taken.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad have fired more than 460 rockets into Israel since Monday night, which claimed the life of one man in Ashkelon, while Israeli aircraft have hit 160 targets belonging to the terror organizations in response. The warring sides have since agreed to a ceasefire.

Speaking to reporters after the 50-minute meeting, Palestinian UN Ambassador Riyad Mansour said the council was "paralyzed" and had "failed to shoulder its responsibility" for the situation in Gaza by lack of action to end the violence."There is one country that is not allowing discussion at the council," Mansour said in reference to the US, which has taken a pro-Israeli stance led by President Donald Trump.There was no statement from the council on the crisis. Such statements are agreed by consensus by all 15 council members.Seven Palestinians were killed in Gaza as the Israeli Air Force (IAF) struck terror targets, flattening buildings and destroying Hamas infrastructure.The latest round of violence began late Sunday with a botched Israeli special forces operation inside the Gaza Strip, during which IDF Lt. Col. M was killed and another officer was moderately wounded in a fire exchange that erupted between the army and Hamas. The Palestinians responded with rocket and mortar fire. A 19 year-old IDF soldier was critically wounded after a Cornet anti-tank missile struck a bus near the Gaza border.

In protest of Gaza ceasefire and efforts to reach an arrangement with Hamas, Defense Minister Lieberman resigns and quits the government; Israel is 'buying short-term quiet at the cost of serious damage to national security on the long term,' he charges.

Avigdor Lieberman resigned from his post as defense minister on Wednesday in protest of the latest ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, criticizing it as "surrender to terrorism."

"The question being asked is why now. As far as I'm concerned, the ceasefire yesterday, along with the entire process of reaching an arrangement with Hamas, means surrendering to terrorism," Lieberman said at during a special meeting of his Yisrael Beytenu faction. He also urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to call early elections as soon as possible.

Lieberman charged that in negotiating with Hamas, Israel was "buying short-term quiet at the cost of serious damage to national security on the long term."

"It's no secret there have been disagreements between the prime minister and myself in recent months," he said. "I'll mention allowing in (to Gaza) Qatari-funded fuel, which I thought was a mistake. It was only after the prime minister issued a written order that I had to allow the Qatari-funded fuel into the strip." Lieberman's resignation will come into effect within 48 hours. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to take on the defense minister's job until further notice. Immigration and Absorption Minister Sofa Landver, who is a member of Lieberman's party, is also expected to tend in her resignation from the government. A senior Likud official said that Lieberman's resignation "doesn't necessarily mean calling early elections at a time of such a sensitive security situation. The government can live out its days."

Hamas rejoiced at Lieberman's resignation, saying he is "admitting defeat and acknowledging his inability to handle the Palestinian resistance."

"This is a political victory for Gaza, which succeeded in standing strong and causing a political earthquake in Israel," Hamas added in a statement.

Islamic Jihad also saw the resignation as "a victory to our people's steadfast resistance to the occupation."

Israeli soldiers shot, on Wednesday morning, a young Palestinian man as he approached the perimeter fence, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, and abducted him.

Media sources in Gaza said the young man, in his twenty was shot in his leg, before the soldiers abducted him and took him to an unknown destination.

The incident is the latest of a serious of similar assaults carried out by the soldiers against the Palestinians near the perimeter fence, including farmers working on their own lands.

On Wednesday morning, dozens of Israeli colonialist settlers gathered near Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) commercial crossing with Gaza, and prevented many trucks, loaded with goods, food, fuel and cooking gas, and construction materials, from reaching the terminal, on their way to Gaza.

Dozens of colonists gathered near the terminal since morning hours, and stopped the trucks, for the second time since Sunday, after closing the road leading to the only commercial crossing.

Dozens of Israeli settlers at night on Tuesday marched near Karam Abu Salem commercial crossing with the Gaza Strip.

Hebrew media sources reported that the march came as a protest step after the Israeli government agreed on a ceasefire agreement with Palestinian resistance groups in the Gaza Strip.

The same sources said that the protesting settlers burned car tires and prevented the entry of trucks loaded with goods into the enclave.

The Israeli occupation army on Monday and Tuesday launched a large-scale military operation bombing several civilian targets in the Gaza Strip, including the al-Aqsa TV channel building. Palestinian resistance groups responded by firing hundreds of rockets toward Israeli settlements neighboring Gaza.

Seven Palestinian resistance fighters were killed after they clashed with an Israeli special force that sneaked into Gaza on Sunday evening, and seven civilians were killed by Israeli airstrikes on Monday and Tuesday, according to Palestinian sources.

The Israeli media said that two Israelis were killed and 90 others injured by the Palestinian resistance rockets.